"Not so straightforward, is it?" remarks Markus. Both generally and rhetorically, he's passing comment on life. However, in the closing weeks of 2017 & opening months of 2018, he could as easily be talking about the 'how', 'what' & 'why?' of Dakota's stage show and it's December-released 18-track LP companion, The Nine Skies. Dakota has had it's spiritual side from the off. The first and second 'Thoughts Become Things' albums were the pathfinders for this new, and possibly most definitive of Dakota projects. These releases were measures deployed to see if electronic music's citizenry were receptive to something deeper and more involved. Word back from the 'Thoughts' generation was: "ready". The tipping point for The Nine Skies' didn't occur however until last year, and the aftermath of the attack on Florida's Pulse nightclub. "The final spur in the side", was how Markus saw it at the time. "All the shit that's happened after that has really changed things, but somehow that all seemed to start with Pulse. It just devastated me. Shook me to my core. It woke me up to the idea that, in general, we're not on the right path. I believe to get us back there, to turn things around, anyone who is able has to do their bit. The Nine Skies is me trying to do mine in really the only way I know how". In respect of 'The Nine Skies', Markus' own awakening started predominantly through books. "I started reading, he says, like a lot!" "At home, in hotel lobbies, on flights, in the studio. I've always had a lingering interest in spirituality and the desire to make some sense of life. It's something I share with people that are close to me. We like to chat about the nature of things like dharma, prajna, true-self - all that stuff. It is how - over time - the 'Skies' came into being.